The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Calibrachoa plant, botanically known as Calibrachoa hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Wescasunxe2x80x99.
The new Calibrachoa is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany. The new Calibrachoa originated from a cross made by the Inventor of a proprietary selection of Calibrachoa identified as code number 98-107d, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Calibrachoa identified as code number 98-137-87, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Calibrachoa was selected by the Inventor in 1999 on the basis of its large flower size. Plants of the new Calibrachoa differ from plants of the parent selections primarily in flower color and flower size.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany, has shown that the unique features of this new Calibrachoa are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Wescasun have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Wescasunxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Wescasunxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Semi-upright to cascading and uniform growth habit.
2. Freely branching habit, dense and bushy.
3. Large flower size.
4. Numerous intense yellow-colored flowers.
5. Uniform flower coloration.
6. Good weather tolerance.
Plants of the cultivar Wescasun can be compared to plants of the Calibrachoa cultivar Million Bells Terracotta, not patented. However in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Sudlohn-Oeding, Germany, plants of the new Calibrachoa and the cultivar Million Bells Terracotta differ in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Calibrachoa have larger flowers with larger sepals than plants of the cultivar Million Bells Terracotta.
2. Flower coloration of plants of the new Calibrachoa is more uniform than flower coloration of plants of the cultivar Million Bells Terracotta.
3. Plants of the new Calibrachoa have larger leaves than plants of the cultivar Million Bells Terracotta.